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12/12/2023 01:48 PMAn official with the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) criticized the draft Environmental Assessment (EA) report released by Tweed-New Haven Airport regarding the proposed expansion of the airport in a letter to regional and federal personnel of the Federal Aviation Administration.
Rachel L. Levine, assistant secretary for health at HHS, urged FAA officials in Washington D.C. and New England “to assess the potential public health and environmental justice implications of the proposed expansion of operations at Tweed-New Haven Airport” in a letter dated Sept. 26.
Levine also asked officials to “consider a more in-depth analysis” of public health and environmental implications, which could occur through an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS).
According to the letter, the expansion would allow for a larger runway to accommodate greater air traffic by Avelo Airlines, “the sole carrier operating at Tweed,” and expand the use of Boeing 737-800 aircraft, “which are more carbon intensive than the Boeing 737-700 aircraft currently in use.”
Increased air traffic, partly due to the expanded use of aircraft with higher emission rates of greenhouse gasses, could mean highly harmful health results for an already vulnerable population in East Haven and other nearby towns.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Environmental Justice Index finds that the population in the region surrounding Tweed is subjected to higher asthma rates than 96% of communities nationwide. This is partly due to them breathing in high rates of ozone, which leads to negative effects on the respiratory system.
According to Levine, increased air traffic and emissions into the atmosphere and breathing ultra-fine particles emitted by airplane engines can lead to worsening asthma, decreased lung function, and increased hospitalizations for respiratory and heart conditions. Demographics who are especially susceptible to these conditions include children under five years of age, people above 65 years of age, and those in lower socioeconomic groups
These effects may overlap with other current environmental health stressors seen in “traditionally lower socioeconomic groups” living within five miles of Tweed, according to Levine. “These neighborhoods have a high estimated prevalence of cancer and mental health conditions. In addition, they include schools and elder care facilities where sensitive populations are likely to congregate.”
The “asthma burden,” as described by Levine, also tends to fall disproportionately on communities of color in Connecticut.
“By allowing for more frequent flights by larger aircraft with more powerful engines, all expansion scenarios would increase health risks in these neighborhoods, several of which rank among the most cumulatively impacted communities in the United States,” said Levine.
Overall, “The draft EA does not fully assess how increased flights by larger commercial airplanes threaten public health in already heavily burdened neighborhoods,” wrote Levine. “In addition to asthma, ozone concentration, and other environmental health burdens, it does not fully account for the current and potential increased use of leaded fuel by small private aircraft, which put communities at higher risk for lead exposure.”
Next to a more in-depth health analysis through an EIS, Levine recommended several health provisions for protection against current and future health stressors at Tweed and surrounding communities like East Haven. For the latter, these include “installing air filters at schools, elder care facilities, and other public facilities within five miles of the airport.”
For the airport, she recommends several steps that can be taken to achieve a reduction in “potentially health-damaging emissions,” such as a net-zero carbon pledge and the “electrification of airport facilities” by use of clean energy sources.